The Hill reports that Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is lobbying the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to change its attitude toward potatoes.
Collins said during a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee - which is charged with marking up the new agriculture spending bill - that she thinks the USDA is unfairly discriminating against potatoes and other starchy vegetables by proposing regulations that would limit school lunch servings of these items to twice a week. The problem, Collins says, is not what the food is but how it is prepared.
"The fact is that French fries are a problem but potatoes are not," Collins said. "I don't know what (Agriculture) Secretary (Tom) Vilsack has against potatoes, but I'm going to invite him to northern Maine for a nice feast."
Collin’s goal - and it is shared by other legislators - is to get the USDA to change the language of any new regulations and, ideally, prevent any money from being spent on restricting the serving of certain starchy veggies.
Collins said during a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee - which is charged with marking up the new agriculture spending bill - that she thinks the USDA is unfairly discriminating against potatoes and other starchy vegetables by proposing regulations that would limit school lunch servings of these items to twice a week. The problem, Collins says, is not what the food is but how it is prepared.
"The fact is that French fries are a problem but potatoes are not," Collins said. "I don't know what (Agriculture) Secretary (Tom) Vilsack has against potatoes, but I'm going to invite him to northern Maine for a nice feast."
Collin’s goal - and it is shared by other legislators - is to get the USDA to change the language of any new regulations and, ideally, prevent any money from being spent on restricting the serving of certain starchy veggies.
- KC's View:
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One can only imagine how much money is being spent lobbying Congress to protect potatoes and starchy vegetables.
Thank goodness that Brussels sprouts don’t have a lobbyist, or the Congress would be mandating that we all eat five servings of them a week. I’d rather have a colonoscopy.
